Eighth Recipient of the Nasty Reader Award: Pink Inchworm

Ed. Note: A mere ten days after making this post, it quickly rose to the fifth “most liked” posting on our site.

Ed. Note: We haven’t awarded a Nasty Reader Award in quite some time since most folks who write to us are polite and quite understanding that our small staff is unable to respond to every question we receive. This morning we happened upon this flurry of emails from Alexis Crowell, that came within three hours of one another. Seems Alexis is demanding instant gratification and furthermore, (S)he has deplorable grammar. Additionally, U.S.A. is a very broad location when it comes to trying to determine the identify of many insects that have a very localized range. Further research into the matter revealed that Alexis did not even take the photographs, but rather pilfered them from other websites. With that said, we are unable to even respond to this rude query with any accuracy. It also appears that despite the poor grammar and spelling, Alexis has referred to our staff with a derogatory sexual orientation slur in the final correspondence that occurred a scant two hours and 45 minutes after the initial email. Seems Alexis is not only rude, but a person who demands instant gratification. For all of the above reasons, we are pleased to award Alexis Crowell of the U.S.A. as our latest Nasty Reader Award recipient.

Subject: are they rare?
Location: U.S.A
August 14, 2012 3:08 pm
dear bugman,is the pink inchworm rare or is it not that rare. is there not that many inch worms?
Signature: sinnceraly, Alexis Crowell

Ed Note: Our immediate automated responseSent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 3:08 PMSubject: Identification Request: are they rare?Thank you for submitting your identification request. Please understand that we have a very small staff that does this as a labor of love. We cannot answer all submissions (not by a long shot). But we’ll do the best we can!

Alexis Crowell alexisleecrowell@yahoo.com
3:19 PM (18 hours ago)
dear bugman it is ok
you cant just try we are really curious about this unknown bug.

Alexis Crowell alexisleecrowell@yahoo.com
5:10 PM (17 hours ago)
JUST ANSWER US PLEASE I AM CRYIN RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE BEEN STARING AT THE COMPUTER!

Alexis,
Our online submission form clearly states: “By submitting an identification request and/or photo(s), you give WhatsThatBug.com permission to use your words and image(s) on their website and other WhatsThatBug.com publications. Also, you swear that you either took the photo(s) yourself or have explicit permission from the photographer or copyright holder to use the image.” Both of the images you have submitted have been pilfered from other internet websites, most likely without permission which is a copyright violation. One image came from http://www.dailypress2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=111815 and the other is a photo credited to Dave Green posted on http://daylight44.net/pinkinch.html which can be accessed by clicking the Photo of Pink Inchworm link. You have plagiarized the work of other photographers and submitted them using our online form that specifically indicates that you have taken the photos or you have permission to use the photos. Additionally, your flurry of emails in rapid succession ending in an incorrectly spelled sexual orientation slur has gained you the distinction of being awarded the Nasty Reader Award as well as a feature on our scrolling announcement bar. The Nasty Reader Award is a distinction we have not had the pleasure to award in over two and a half years, which is an indication that most people who write to us are polite and well mannered. Please search elsewhere for information on Pink Inchworms. Responding to you is not worth any more of our time which is quite precious to us.

Ed. Note: excerpt from another response.
… so sorry you had to award your Nasty Reader award … what a jerk !
the rest of us really love what you are doing and appreciate your time, efforts, and your willingness to share your knowledge.
Donna

How sad. I see the trolls can’t resist even these hallowed pages. I’m not even sure if this merits a Nasty Reader award, to be honest. The crying at the computer is just way too over the top!Good thing school will be back in session shortly!
Bugophile

Surely there was only one proper response for you guys to have made isn’t there?

You didn’t take that, someone else made that happen.

Expect the entitlement generation to get even more obnoxious if you guys allow the welfare state to keep propping them up for another four years. We are desperately trying to rid ourselves of the same type of government down under but unfortunately we don’t get an election till next year, barring some stroke of good fortune.

So sorry you have to be berated by the impatient one with a plagerized photo, while others wait patiently with their legitimate requests! (I have had similar emails from someone with even worse grammar expecting instant responses, so I understand what it’s like!)
I am not surprised you have not responded to my request a couple of weeks ago (during the height of your busy season) to identify my drawing of an unusual white beetle with seven green spots. After all, how do you know I didn’t just make it up to try to stump you? But your identification of a flower fly from a drawing has given me renewed hope. Therefore, I thought I should write again and let you know that I mailed my daughter a copy of the drawing which I made by following her instructions over the phone, to see if I even came close. Amazingly, she reports that my drawing is almost identical to the one she made while actually looking at the insect, except that the spots on hers are slightly more oval. One of these days if I get a chance, I hope to get out to see her. If she has not deleted her blurry attempt to photograph the critter, I will see if I can download it onto something and get it to a computer so I can send it to you to back up the drawing. In the mean time, I understand you are very busy at this time of year, so I will continue to be patient! Keep up the good work.

Thank you for your support. We were called out of the office for several days for a family wedding out of town, and we haven’t even checked the emails we received while away. We are starting with the comments. If we cannot locate your drawing, please resend it and label it as “drawing of beetle” to get our attention.

1. This hideously misspelled derivation of ‘f*****’ [an even more derogatory word unless you are in Great Britain and referring to a British meatball commonly made of pork offal] is primarily used by uneducated rednecks who fail to see the irony of calling someone a derogatory name but having no idea how to say the word.

I don’t dislike bugs but I don’t really like them either. Know what I mean?
Anyway, I love the info here and the fact that people take extra time in their busy schedules for something they love really gives the visitor a true sense of understanding for your passion. Clearly, that was not how Alexis felt about your unresponsiveness. Everyone knows that yelling and name calling always gets you exactly what you need… A swift kick in the pants!